


Solitract

by itssoverynicetomeetyou



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, No Beta, spoilers for s11e9, what if the episode went a different way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 21:55:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16819222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itssoverynicetomeetyou/pseuds/itssoverynicetomeetyou
Summary: SPOILERS FOR S11E9Was it just me, or did we all want someone else to be behind those tablecloths?





	Solitract

The Doctor followed Eric’s-not-wife outside, barely registering her words. The sun was bright, made the hanging tablecloths glow so that she could barely see through them, but she could feel it in her bones. She knew who was behind them. With a shaking hand, she pulled back the fabric.  
“Hello sweetie,” that voice. Oh, that voice. The one that forever spoke in her dreams, calmed her waking moments, spurred her ever onwards in her explorations. The Doctor opened her mouth to speak but found no words would come.  
“Doc, who is that?” Graham shattered the moment between them.  
“River Song. My wife.” At last, the Doctor found her voice. Tears blurred her vision and she rushed forwards to the waiting arms. She was shorter this time around, making it far easier to bury her head in River’s neck, inhale her musky scent of perfume and engine oil.  
“Let me look at you,” River gently pushed the Doctor back, making her whimper in protest. River squeezed the Doctor’s arm, reassuring her. The Doctor looked a mess. In the space of a few seconds she’d gone from proud, albeit unsure, leader to tears streaming down her face, her hair messed up from where she’d nuzzled River’s neck. The Doctor didn’t care. She gazed back at River, still dressed in the white gown she’d left her in, her hair caught in the sunlight like a halo. River seemed to read her thoughts and her face fell into the all-too-familiar knowing smirk.  
“I assure you, I’m still hell in high heels.” The Doctor couldn’t help herself. She surged forward, grabbing the collar of the robe and pressed her lips against River’s.  
I’ve missed you. I love you.  
But the kiss felt wrong. Part of the Doctor’s brain kept working, despite the rest of it severely short-circuiting. One word kept circling round her head. Solitract. She tried to ignore it, tried to deepen the kiss but it refused to go away, shouting louder and louder in her head until it forced her to pull back.  
“What’s wrong, my love?” River’s eyes were right in front of hers. She had to tell her straight into those beautiful eyes. The Doctor’s vision blurred and she felt River gently brush her cheek. She couldn’t do it; couldn’t bear the thought of losing her again. She looped her arms around River’s neck and pulled her back into a kiss, forcing the alarm bells in her head to fall quiet.  
All too soon, the ground beneath them began to shake. River pulled back in alarm.  
“What’s happening?” The Doctor stepped away, feeling the cold air sting at the loss of River’s touch.  
“You know what’s happening.” She couldn’t face her. The woman who trusted her more than anything, the woman she trusted with her own name…she couldn’t tell a replica the truth. At that moment, there was nothing the Doctor hated more than herself.  
“You’re not real. You’re not the real River.” Gulping, she forced herself to look up from the floor, to look River in the eye. “You’re the Solitract. You’ve created this to be a trap, to make us stay and show you our universe. But it’s not real, you’re not real.”  
“Doctor-” River stepped forward and grasped the Doctor’s hand. She knew she should pull away, but she couldn’t. She just stared at their hands, entwined once more like time said they never could.  
She didn’t even know how they ended up back in the house. Couldn’t tell if time had passed or not. She’d been engrossed in memorising the feeling of River’s hand in hers, how her now small hand fitted inside, pressing against the cold metal of a wedding band.  
“You never wore a ring.” The Doctor croaked, her voice a mere shadow of what it normally was.  
“Anything for you, my love.” The Doctor finally mustered the strength to pull back.  
“You’re not her. You’re not real. Impersonating her is the greatest offence you could cause me.” She looked back up at the fake face, her eyes blazing with anger. “You are not keeping me here, you are not River Song and you certainly aren’t my WIFE!” She ended in a shout at the impersonator threw her hands out and shot the Doctor back through the mirror.  
Back to reality.  
She wasn’t real. It wasn’t her. She didn’t just say goodbye.  
Gods, but it hurt.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm crying so hard rn


End file.
